News Digest — 8/16/24
Netanyahu Planning To Speak To UN In Late September, Danny Danon Tells The ‘Post’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to go to New York to Address the UN General Assembly in late September, Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador designate to the UN, told the Jerusalem Post.
According to Danon, who will present his credentials to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres next week, Netanyahu is scheduled to speak to the General Assembly on either September 26 or 27.
“We are preparing the ground for the visit of the prime minister,” said Danon. “I believe he will arrive – we don’t know what will happen tomorrow in Israel – but the plans are that he will come and speak in front of the General Assembly.”
The upcoming General Assembly meeting will be dominated by the Palestinian issue, Danon said.
In his nearly 17 years as prime minister, Netanyahu has spoken numerous times at the General Assembly and views it as an important platform from which to present Israel’s position to the world. This speech will come fast on the heels of another high-profile speech he delivered explaining Israel’s position to a special joint session of Congress last month.
Netanyahu last year addressed the UN just two weeks before the October 7 massacre and said Israel was “at the cusp” of a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia. He met at the time with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the UN meeting and discussed efforts to move this process forward.
It is as yet unclear whether there will be another meeting between Biden and Netanyahu in New York. The two met in Washington last month when Netanyahu addressed Congress.
IDF: We Destroyed 50 Tunnels At Philadelphi Corridor In Past Month
Israel Defense Forces troops over the past month demolished no fewer than 50 tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the military revealed on Thursday (15th).
“Forces of the Combat Engineering Corps Special Operations Unit and 605th Battalion have been operating in the Philadelphi Corridor for the past month,” the IDF said.
“As part of the engineering activities, the forces destroyed around 50 underground Hamas infrastructures,” the army added.
The Israeli military is ready to secure the Philadelphi Corridor regardless of the circumstances, the head of the armed forces said during a visit to the axis earlier Wednesday (14th).
“We are preparing options for whatever the political echelon decides,” IDF Chief of Staff LG. Herzi Halevi said ahead of Thursday’s (15th) multilateral ceasefire talks in Doha, where security control of the 8.7 mile-long border area is among the issues under discussion.
Israeli forces conquered the Philadelphi Corridor in May, locating and dismantling dozens of tunnels including at least 25 that crossed into Egypt. The Hamas terror group for years has used the border to smuggle weapons and other materials into Gaza via a vast network of tunnels.
In early August, the IDF revealed that a 10-foot-high tunnel was discovered. The smuggling route – large enough for vehicles to drive through – was dug directly underneath an Egyptian army position on the border, according to photographs provided by the IDF.
An Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post Wednesday (14th) that Prime Minister Netanyahu firmly stands by the principle that the IDF will physically remain in the Philadelphi Corridor.
Jerusalem has said that the Israeli military must maintain control of the corridor, as it is crucial to ensuring that Hamas does not resupply and reestablish itself in Gaza, and Netanyahu has stated previously that any ceasefire agreement must include this stipulation.
Abbas Says He Will Visit Gaza, In Turkish Parliament Speech
Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday (15th) told Turkey’s parliament he had decided to visit Gaza and Jerusalem to protest the war on the enclave, adding that he saw no end to the conflict unless Israel withdrew from “Palestinian lands.”
Abbas, who met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday (14th) to discuss the war and ceasefire efforts, addressed an extraordinary session of Turkey’s parliament general assembly at the invitation of the Turkish government.
In a 46-minute speech attended by Erdogan, his ministers and lawmakers from all political parties, Abbas accused the United States of prolonging the “catastrophe” by supporting Israel and vetoing resolutions at the UN Security Council. He also called on the world to legally punish Israel for its war crimes and violations of international law.
“I have decided to head with Palestinian Authority (PA) members to the Gaza Strip. I will exert every effort so we can all be with our people to stop this barbaric aggression even if it costs us our lives,” Abbas said, adding that he would also go to Jerusalem. He did not specify when he would visit.
Abbas heads the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in part of the West Bank. He received a standing ovation before and after his speech, which was also interrupted repeatedly by applause.
Turkey’s invitation to Abbas came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the US Congress in July.
“On July 24, a war criminal gave a speech which was full of lies in the US Congress. Here today, Mahmoud Abbas stated the truth and the Palestinian cause in every sentence,” Turkish parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus said, speaking after Abbas.
Turkey has denounced the war and halted all trade with Israel. It submitted a request to join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.
Erdogan, who has been a staunch supporter of Hamas, said Turkey had also planned to invite the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran.
Israel’s Navy Conducts Drill To prepare For Emergency Scenarios In Israel’s North
The Israeli Navy’s Haifa base conducted a drill simulating defensive and offensive scenarios in the northern maritime zone of Israel to prepare for emergency scenarios, the IDF announced on Thursday evening (15th).
The exercise was conducted to prepare for escalations in the northern area as tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group continue.
During the exercise, combat scenarios were practiced in case of emergency. These scenarios included defending the maritime border, evacuation of wounded under fire, emergency procedures in various command centers, and additional ones to enhance force preparedness, the IDF said.
The exercise involved the Haifa base of the Israeli Navy, Division 146, reserve forces from the ‘Oded’ Brigade (9), rescue and evacuation forces from the Home Front Command, the Israel Police, and the Rambam Hospital.
“Alongside ongoing operational activities, the IDF continues to train against all threats and attempts to harm the citizens of the State of Israel,” the military said.
Hezbollah has continued firing rockets into Israel. On Thursday (15th), approximately five projectiles fell in open areas in the area of Shamir from Lebanon, the IDF reported. A 50-year-old man in the area was wounded while he was seeking shelter.
Anticipating A Major Attack Tends To Focus The Mind – Jake Wallis Simons
Few people in the West can imagine the experience of living day-to-day while anticipating a major attack. Ordinary Israeli citizens are going about their lives in the knowledge that, sooner or later, Iran will try to destroy them.
Yet it is becoming increasingly apparent that Iran does not want war right now. This has been the consensus of intelligence analysts in the fortnight that has passed since the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Israel’s enemies have seen the consequences of ‘embedding their combatants among their own civilians.’ Jerusalem will do its utmost to target only the terrorists but ultimately, mess with the Jews and you will be bombed towards the Stone Age.
Remember Rafah? President Biden was adamant that the IDF refrain from entering the town, citing the risk of mass civilian casualties. The fact that it was strategically vital as the location of the smuggling routes from Egypt, apparently made no difference. Prime Minister Netanyahu finally ignored him and gave the greenlight. In ten days, a million civilians were evacuated to safety. Israeli forces quickly conquered the town with very low casualties. Now, despite the White House’s best efforts, Hamas is in a final chokehold, deprived of the means for replenishing its weapons and cash.
After the mass attack from Iran on Israel in April, the White House once again demanded “de-escalation,” publicly counseling Jerusalem to “take the win.” Knowing the laws of the Middle East, Netanyahu understood that this could not be an option, or the jackals would circle. His calibrated response was a surgical attack on a radar station near Tehran’s sensitive nuclear site at Natanz. Netanyahu was saying: “You fired 300 missiles at us with next to no damage. We fired two and hit one of your most closely-guarded assets. Beware.”
A similar message was sent by Jerusalem when Ismail Haniyeh was targeted in one of Iran’s most closely-guarded facilities in Tehran: “We can reach you anywhere.”
Israelis understand the experience of suffering a major attack. That tends to focus the mind on the need to deter the enemy. In the Middle East, peace is won through strength. Israel learned this long ago. What will it take for the West to catch on? (Telegraph – UK)
CNN’s Optical Illusion: The Impact Of IDF Gains In Gaza – MG (res.) Yaakov Amidror
Recently, CNN published an in-depth article on the war in Gaza, claiming that while the IDF dealt a severe blow to Hamas, its military strength remains intact and it is renewing itself. This claim reflects a fundamental misunderstanding.
Israel has had a declared strategic goal since the beginning of the war. To eliminate Hamas’ military and governing power in Gaza. From conversations with some of the commanders leading the IDF in Gaza, it is clear that they believe that they are advancing toward its full implementation.
Elimination of military power requires eliminating Hamas fighters, its infrastructure including command and control centers, and its intelligence apparatus; destroying all weapon production facilities and isolating Gaza from Egypt to prevent the smuggling of weapons in the future and to deny Hamas the ability to rearm; and blowing up the tunnels to deny Hamas a hiding place. All these tasks are being carried out in practice, with Hamas unable to stop them.
Many Hamas terrorists remain in the field, occasionally harming IDF soldiers and even firing a few rockets at Israel, and they still hold hostages. But no one has asked what Hamas’ response from Gaza is to the elimination of Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh. The reason is that Hamas’ military capability has become far less relevant to Israel; every day that passes it loses more of its capabilities.
At the end of the process, Gaza should become like Area A in the West Bank, meaning the IDF will enter and operate there whenever there is intelligence on any terrorist organization. This will mark the end of the war in Gaza. Once it concludes, every leader in the region will know that crossing a red line, as Hamas did, will lead to their destruction.
The writer was national security adviser to the Israeli prime minister and chairman of Israel’s National Security Council (Jerusalem post)
